Electric connecter



Dec. 15,- 1936. R. A. MEEKER 2,064,440

' ELECTRIC CONNECTER Filed Sept. 4,1934- 5 a ATTORNEY.'

Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC CONNECTER Robert A. Meeker, Chicago, Ill. Application september `V4, 1934, 'serial N0. 742,502

1' Claim.

The present invention relates generally to electrical vconnecters. More particularly the invention relates, to that type of connecter -which is designed to connect together a pair of electrical conductors for the transmission of current from surround the free end of the other connecter and is adapted after being sleeved over the last 5 mentioned conductor to be inserted into the internally'I threaded` bore in the body; and (3)- a sleeve type nut which is provided with an external screw thread for engaging the internal screw thread 'in the bore of the body and' has the bore thereof tapered correspondingly to the sleeve so that when it is screwed into Athe body it operates to contract the sleeve and jam it around the conductor. l

One object of the inventionv is to provide an electrical connecter of this type in which the body is provided at the inner end of the inter'- nally threaded bore with a polygonal socket 'and the sleeve is provided at its inner end with a polygonal head which, when` the sleeve ois in place in the bore, fits within the socket Vand coacts with the latter to hold the sleeve against rotation relatively to the body.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical'connecter of the last mentioned 5 character in which the sleeve portion of the nut is split longitudinally and as a result lis expanded into'locked relation with the b fdy. when th nut is screwed into place.

A still further object of the invention is to 0 provide an electrical connecterfwhich not only may be manufactured at a low and reasonable cost but also is an improvement upon and is more eiiicient than previously designed electrical connecters of the same general type.

I5 Other objects of the invention and the vaent electrical connecter will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description. l

The invention co ists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly dened by the claim at the conclusion hereof.

L In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification or -disclosure and in rious advantages and characteristics ofthe pres- A which like numerals of reference denote corre- Asponding parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a view partially in section and partially in lelevation of a connecter embodying the invention; 5

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the body of the connecter; Fig. 3 isa perspective of `the outwardly tapered split clamping sleeve, which is adapted' to fit in the fore of the connecter body and serves securely to clamp or retain the conductor in the body;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the sleeve: Fig. 5 is a perspective of the sleeve type nut foresecuring the sleeve in the body of the connecter; and 1 Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the nut.

- The connecter which forms the subject mat l ter of the invention is adapted to connect together a pairof electrical conductors I5, I5 for the transmission of current from one conductor to the other and comprises a body I0 which is Lformed ofelectrolytic copper and has a polygo- I cthe inner end of which has a head I1. The lat ter is hexagonal in conformation, as shown in.

Figs. 3 and 4, and is tapered correspondingly to,

and adapted to flt within, the tapered hexagonal socket I2 in the body I0. One side of the sleeve 40 I6 is formed with a split I8 extending from end to end and at its other side the sleeve is formed with a split I9 which extends inwardly from the outer end of the sleeve and terminates outwardly of its inner end so that the sleeve'will 45 be contractible 'and all portions thereof will be integral. The bore of the sleeve I6 is formed with an internal screw thread extending from end to end to provide a formation which will bite into the conductor I5 when the sleeve is 50 contracted. The purpose of forming the sleeve with a taperedhead I1 which fits into the correspondingly shaped socket I2in the connecter body is to cause the sleeve to be interlccked against rotation relatively to the conductor body at the point where the the sleeve portion 2| and has a hexagonal portion 24 so that a wrench may be applied to the nut. 'I'he sleeve portion 2| of the nut is longitudinally slotted as at 2l from its inner end to the head 23 so that it is expansible. The nut has a bore 26 which tapers outwardly from its inner end to conform to the taper on the sleeve I6 so that as the nut is screwed into the body I2 f the sleeve portion 2| will be expanded against the screw thread in the bore II and simultaneously the sleeve It will be contracted to force `the thread 20 in the sleeve into the conductor.

The tapered bore 26\of the nut extends outwardly beyond the sleeve to a ypoint 21 where the diameter corresponds substantially with the ldiameter of the conductor and beyond the point 21 the bore of the nut is flared slightly as at 2l.

`'I'his formation in the bore of the nut provides a substantial fit between the conductor and the nut outwardly of the sleeve I6 where there is no clamping or jammingeffect produced on the conductor. The purpose of this formation is to support the conductor at a point outwardly of the sleeve. In practice it has been found that crystallization causes the conductor to fracture jamming terminates, if the cable is leftu'nsupported beyond the point where the jamming of the sleeve I6 terminates. By providing the aforementioned formation between the nut and the conductorthe latter is supported outwardly of the portion of the cable which is jammed in the sleeve and hence vibration which causes fractur from crystallization is overcome.

To connect the conductor I5 to the connector body III, the sleeve I6 is ilrst passed through the bore II until the head is seated in the hexagonal socket I2 in said body. 'I'he taper of the head of the sleeve facilitates the entry of the sleeve into the socket I2. When the sleeve has been thus placed in the body III it is in its normal expanded condition 4and is locked against rotation relatively to the body I0. 'I'he nut 23 ls then slipped over the free end of the conductor |5 and the latter is slipped into the sleeve I6 in the body I0 until the end of the conductor engages the cross wall Il. At this time the oonductor Ilwill pass freely into and through the sleeve I6 because the latter is not contracted. Next the screw threaded sleeve portion 2| of the nut is screwed into the socket by applying a wrench to the vhexagonal portion 2l of the nut. Rotation of the nut will cause the sleeve portion 2| with its tapered boreto be forced inwardly around the sleeve I6 and the engagement of the tapered bore 2B of the nut with the correspondingly tapered outer periphery of the sleeve I6 v will cause the sleeve to contract so that the screw thread 2l in the sleeve I l' will bite into the conductor. Simultaneously the wedging action between the sleeve and the nut will cause the -split sleeve portion 2| of the nut to be jammed in the bore II of the connecter body III. After the nut has been screwed into the body as faraspossible the conductor I5 is securely joined to the connecter body I0. When it is thus joined the outer portion .of the nut will support the conductor I5 outwardly of the outer end of the sleeve I6 where the conductor is jammed so that the conductor will be supported against vibration atthe ypoint where the jamming terminates so that crystallization will not cause the conductor to break adjacent the outer end of the sleeve.

As a result of jamming the screw thread 20 of the sleeve I6 into the conductor with the thread interrupted at the splits I9 and 20, the conductor I5 will not be rotatable in the sleeve when the latter has been contracted. This results from using a split sleeve end interlocked between the sleeve and the body to prevent relative rotation. By employing a split sleeve portion on the nut and a split sleeve the nut will in effect be locked in place when it has been turned into the body to secure the conductor in the sleeve.

The conductor I5a is secured to the opposite end of the connecter body I0 by means of a sleeve, and sleeve type nut which correspond respectively with the sleeve and nut for the conductor I5.

The herein described connecter is extremely eicient in operation and may be produced ata low and reasonable cost. It may be reused and the parts thereof are so constructed and formed that it may be assembled quickly and easily.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

As a new article of manufacture, a connecter for an electrical conductor, comprising an elongated body having an internally threaded bore in one end thereof and a polygonal socket at the inner end of the bore, a longitudinally split one piece sleeve for the conductor designed to fit within the bore and having its outer periphery tapered from the inner end thereof to its outer end and also having a polygonal head at its inner end adapted to flt within the socket and shaped conformablyto the latter so that it coacts therewith to hold the sleeve against rotation relatively to the body, and a nutembodying a longitudinally slit sleeve portion with an external screw thread for engaging the internally threaded bore, and having an outwardly tapered sleevev receiving bore whereby when the nut is screwed ROBERTA. MEEKER. 

